It was supposed to be an opportunity to highlight the differences between a vigorous 78-year-old Republican candidate and the frail 81-year-old incumbent.
But Donald Trump apparently suffered two embarrassing memory lapses on Saturday night, including as he challenged Joe Biden to a cognitive test.
Not only did he misremember his doctor’s name during his speech to his fans, but he also appeared to forget a promise to answer questions at the end of the appearance and simply walked off stage when he finished.
In doing so, he reminded voters that this November’s election is between the two oldest presidential candidates in history.
“At the end of the speech, I’ll answer some questions,” he said at the beginning of his speech to 8,000 fans at a convention center in Detroit, Michigan.
‘So this is different from Joe Biden. He doesn’t take questions.
Former President Donald Trump spent Saturday in the key state of Michigan, where he addressed the Turning Point Action People’s Convention in the evening.
He continued speaking for about an hour and 20 minutes (much longer than Biden’s usual 15 minutes) in his usual freestyle. But in the end she seemed to have forgotten his promise.
With the audience cheering and the clear absence of his usual farewell music, Trump remained on stage for several seconds thanking his supporters.
Only then did ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’, Sam and Dave’s song, start playing.
An anxious Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point Action, which organized the conservative meeting, rushed to the stage to confer with the former president, who was already heading backstage.
“Once again… leave it to President Donald Trump,” he said, ending the evening.
It was a strange ending to a typically boisterous speech. He laid out his priorities if he wins the presidential election and repeatedly criticized his Democratic opponent.
But the day after his 78th birthday, he showed signs of fragility.
“He doesn’t even know what the word inflation means,” he said of Biden. ‘I don’t think you would do a test. .. I think you should take a cognitive test like I did.
‘I took a cognitive test. And I asked him: Doc Ronnie, Doc Ronnie Johnson. Does everyone know Ronnie Johnson, congressman from Texas, was he the White House doctor?
Trump spoke for about an hour and 20 minutes in his usual freestyle.
The convention center was filled with 8,000 attendees on Saturday afternoon
Trump received an enthusiastic reception from his supporters, as fireworks lit up the room.
Except it wasn’t. Trump’s White House doctor and Texas congressman is named Ronnie Jackson.
Trump is ahead of Biden in the polls and has highlighted his vigorous campaign approach compared to the Democrat’s fragility.
But he also makes frequent verbal slips, and a recent report suggested his rambling speech worried some chief executives during a meeting.
He spent Saturday in Detroit, Michigan, facing off against his rival in what should be a reliably Democratic city.
In the afternoon he addressed 8,000 supporters at the Turning Point Action People’s Convention.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump wears a T-shirt that says “Adorable Deplorable,” in reference to Hillary Clinton’s comment about Trump supporters, at the Turning Point Action “People’s Convention” on June 15, 2024 in Detroit.
He criticized the Bidens for traveling back and forth across the Atlantic aboard Air Force One, making multiple trips to Europe and, in the case of the first lady, returning to the United States for just 24 hours to support Hunter in his judgment.
And he vowed to begin dismantling Biden’s policies on his first day in office.
“By this time next year, the borders of the United States will be closed, sealed and secure…” he said. ‘Inflation will be in full decline.
‘Our economy will recover strongly. Optimism will increase. American pride will soar.
“The American dream will once again prosper for citizens of all races, religions, colors and creeds.”
About 1,000 people gathered at Church 180 in Detroit, Michigan, to hear Trump speak.
Guests listen to the national anthem before the start of a panel discussion with Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump at Church 180.
The speech also included the usual package of complaints and wild claims: that the army is building electric tanks, that President Volodomyr Zelensky is the best salesman in history, that dishwashers are being deprived of water, and that the 2020 elections were stolen.
Trump’s itinerary highlighted the tightrope he is trying to walk in the 2024 election, first visiting an African-American church before speaking at a meeting of Turning Point Action, a group the Anti-Defamation League says attracts racists and extremists.
Biden won Michigan in 2020 by three points. But now the former president has inched forward with a half-point lead in the polls’ moving averages.
‘We believe we are going to win this state. “We’re in the lead right now by a lot,” Trump said earlier during a roundtable at 180 Church in the city’s northwest.
‘So it’s an honor to be here. It is a very important area for us.”
The schedule shows how the political landscape is changing in 2024, as Trump tries to court the black vote that contributed so much to Biden reaching the White House.
“He has been the worst president for black people,” Trump said.